The Mystery of the Eightfold Path

  In his dream, the unusual noise in the living room outside woke Lin Feng up.

  "Dad, Mom... is it you who have come back?"

  Lin Feng was overjoyed and immediately threw off his covers, got out of bed and rushed outside without even putting on his shoes.

  Opening the bedroom door, with the faint moonlight shining in from outside the window, Lin Feng did not see his parents' figures, but instead saw a scene that made his hair stand on end...

  A gaunt, disheveled, and pale-faced 'person' stood motionless in the center of the living room, with eyes that seemed to flicker like a green flame yet held no emotion whatsoever, staring fixedly at me!!

  Lin Feng was so frightened that he almost forgot to move, opened his mouth and was about to let out a sharp cry, but suddenly felt dizzy, the person in front of him seemed to sway, and the next moment, he appeared right in front of him!

  "Ah!!!!!!"

  A terrified scream, Lin Feng suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed, drenched in sweat, panting heavily.

  "This dream again... That night... What really happened..."

  Lin Feng's face was pale and his expression was almost distorted as he thought hard, his hands grasping the bed sheet tightly, nearly tearing it apart.

  After a while, Lin Feng's breathing finally calmed down. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch the front of his chest and felt that the Nascent Soul ring hanging from his neck was still there, only then did he feel at ease.

  "I've had this dream countless times, but each time I'm startled awake immediately... The things that happened in the dream must be true. What really happened that night? Father must have come back, or else he wouldn't have left this brooch behind. But... if he came back, why did he disappear again?"

  Lin Feng scratched his hair in distress and once again pondered the question he had already thought about countless times, but still couldn't think of anything or guess anything.

  Twelve years ago, when Lin Feng was eight years old, his parents went out as usual, but they didn't come back as quickly as before. It wasn't until three months later that Lin Feng encountered the terrifying event he had seen in his dream earlier, but he couldn't remember what exactly happened. His detailed memory started from the next day when he woke up in a messy living room, and at that time, there was no one else in the house except him, and in his hand, he was holding a mysterious ring.

  This familiar ring was not unfamiliar to Lin Feng, it was his father's ring, so he was certain that his father had returned that night, but the doubts that followed were even more numerous, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.

  Perhaps the secret lies in this Na Wu Ring, so Lin Feng managed to get a low-level cultivation method after that, and he painstakingly practiced it himself until he reached the Qi Refining stage. However, when he tried to explore the Na Wu Ring, he found that there was actually a seal set on it, and he couldn't open it at all.

  Since Father left this heirloom seal to himself, why did he set up a seal and prohibition, not allowing himself to open it?

  Lin Feng had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue his arduous cultivation, hoping to reach a higher realm soon, unlock the seal on the ring, and get the answers he wanted.

  This jade ring is the only hope for him to find his parents, Lin Feng regards it as more important than his own life, so when the ring was snatched away, he would go that crazy.

  ……

  He sat on the bed for a while in a daze, then Lin Feng slapped his cheeks hard to wake himself up and got out of bed to get ready to go out.

  No matter how much you guess, it's useless, and only by quickly improving your strength can you find the truth.

  After making preparations, Lin Feng took out the two magical instruments he had obtained from Han Tie yesterday and headed towards the Treasure Pavilion.

  After that battle yesterday afternoon, Lin Feng woke up from his meditation in the evening, so he gave up on going to Zhen Bao Ge to settle accounts with Cao Yang immediately, because at that time Zhen Bao Ge was already closed.

  It was still early, and there were few people on the street. Lin Feng quickly arrived at Zhen Bao Ge, finding that the door was already open. Inside the hall, there were only two people. One of them was indeed Liu Cui, but the other person was not Cao Yang, rather an old man wearing silk clothes with a majestic aura.

  Liu Cui was the first to notice Lin Feng and smiled as she greeted him: "Lin Feng, you're here! Did you finish dealing with that urgent matter from yesterday?"

  Lin Feng smiled and nodded: "Mm, it's already been resolved, thank you for your concern."

  After finishing speaking, he swept a glance around the store and casually asked: "Huh? Hasn't Cao Ge come yet today?"

  "He hasn't arrived yet! It's strange, yesterday afternoon he also said he had an urgent matter and took a leave of absence, and today he still hasn't come... " Liu Cui shook her head, then whispered, "By the way, you two were absent from work at the same time yesterday, Manager Li was very angry! You'd better be careful what you say later..."

  As she spoke, she glanced secretly at the old man sitting in the inner left corner of the temple, who was holding an account book and reading it with his head down behind a wooden counter.

  "Indeed, has he escaped already..."

  Lin Feng's eyes flashed with a hint of insight, and he thought to himself 'as expected', then softly said to Liu Cai: "Mm, thanks for the reminder."

  He walked straight up to the old man and said with a hint of respect: "Li Guan Shi."

  The old man finally looked up at Lin Feng, his expression showing no joy, and said in a stiff tone: "You left without permission yesterday, which counts as half a day of absenteeism. According to the rules, 5% of your silver bonus for this month will be deducted."

  After listening to Li's words, Lin Feng didn't have any special reaction and calmly said: "Yesterday was indeed my fault for violating the store rules, I have no opinion."

  Although Li the manager looks a bit rigid, he's actually not bad as a person. At least he has never intentionally made things difficult for Lin Feng, and yesterday he really did play hooky, so the punishment wasn't unreasonable. Besides, now Lin Feng doesn't even care about these things anymore.

  Li Guanshi looked at Lin Feng with some surprise and then nodded: "Well, you handle it."

  Lin Feng didn't leave immediately, but instead placed the bundle of cloth in front of Li Guan Shi and said: "Li Guan Shi, actually yesterday I went to meet a friend who asked me to help him deal with a few pieces of treasure. I took a look, two are low-grade artifacts, one is mid-grade artifact, and the short sword is brand new, while the other two are 70% new. I think we can buy them for 25 low-grade spirit stones, what do you think?"

  "Huh?" Li Guan Shi was slightly stunned, then opened the package, picked up three pieces of equipment and examined them for a while. He nodded and said, "Mid-grade defensive equipment, not bad... This short sword is indeed brand new, although it's only low-grade equipment... Alright, you can go get 25 spirit stones yourself."

  Lin Feng's expression slightly pleased: "Thank you, Manager Li."

  ……

  After arriving at his own counter, Lin Feng first took out twenty-five spirit stones from the lower cabinet and put them away properly. Then he casually checked the second-hand magic treasures in the display cabinet, but in his heart, he was secretly planning his next move.

  Just sold the two Korean iron artifacts and his own short sword, it was really helpless. The armor and fist set would have been able to sell for a higher price if they were fully repaired, but Lin Feng didn't even have the spirit stones to buy materials now, so he could only sell them directly.

  A clever woman cannot cook without rice, although a repair technique can bring huge benefits, but also need to have start-up capital.

  These twenty-five low-grade spirit stones can be considered as Lin Feng's first start-up capital for his rise to wealth.

  Next, I'll be collecting scrap artifacts and materials, repairing them, and then selling them off. Back and forth like this, I should be able to earn some spirit stones, which will allow me to continue buying more scrap artifacts and materials, repair and sell...

  Lin Feng seemed to have already seen countless spirit stones falling from the sky, submerging himself...

  ……

  In front of him, most of these second-hand magic treasures were 60-70% new, and the 'profit' didn't seem to be very high. Lin Feng planned to buy those worn-out magic treasures at an ultra-low price, so that the investment would be minimal and the profit would be maximized.

  If the damage degree is 80 or 90%, it has basically reached the edge of 'scrap', and can only serve as a 'one-time' treasure to be used, very few people will want it, most have become the 'collection' of some special hobbyists.

  As for this type of treasure, the Treasure Pavilion actually has some too. They're in that small display case next to Li the manager. Occasionally, some mortal collectors will come by. They can't become cultivators themselves, but they can collect these treasures used by cultivators to satisfy their own desires.

  However, Lin Feng did not intend to buy it in the store because he really couldn't think of a good excuse, so in the end he decided to go to the free market in the east of the city to collect.